Apparatus for treating crude petroleum and the distillates thereof.



C. B. FORWARD.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING CRUDE PETROLEUM AND THE DISTILLATES THEREOF.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 15- 1915" 1 ,@%7,8@& Patented Nov. 27, 191? GHAUNCEY B. lEGEWD, 01F UREANA, M0.

IPAEATUS FOR TREATING CRUDE IEETBOLEUIEI AND THE DISTILLATES THEEEUF.

menses,

specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedNov, 2?,191'd Application filed eeptember 15, 1915. serial No. 50,759.

, To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, CHAnNonr B. Fon- WARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Urbana, in the county of Champlain and State of ()hio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Heating Crude Petroleum and the Distillates Thereof, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to an, apparatus for treating crude oil and the distillates thereof and is an improvement on my Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,088,693, March 3, 1914, and Letters Patent No. 1,181,301, of May 2, 1916.

In my present invention, 1 have so far improved. on the apparatus set forth in said patent that the light distillates are delivered in a more purified state than formerly and,

there is a largely increased percentage in the volume of the ultimate output and particularly of the naphtha and gasolene series, as will presently be seen.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of my apparatus more or less diagrammatic and showing the retort in longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is an elevation in enlarged section of one of the intermediate condensers which is provided with reheating means as hereinafter fully described.

By the means thus shown 1 am enabled to purify the fractional distillates obtained from those portions of crude oil after the heavier fractions or oils have been previously condensed as shown substantially in my said Patent No. 1,088,693 as well as be ing enabled to obtain a materially increased percentage of the more volatile or lighter products of the oil as above indicated.

In my said Patent No. 1,088,693, ll state thatthe several condensers may be changed in size and numbers and made smaller 'or larger here and there in the series according to the character of the oil and the number and character of the fractions desired therefrom, and some of these possibilities and changes structurally are present in this case, plus the changes necessary to secure the further results herein described.

Thus, the drawings show a retort R and a series of condensers D, E, .F, G, H, I, and K and a condenser worm L connected and operating in the order named. Discharge is from the top of one condenser to the bottom of the next in order, as formerly, by a pipe 2, and a drain 3 for the condensed products from each by the trap or outlet 4:.

Formerly, the operation was progressive and similar in manner from one condenser to the other, the initial pressure from or through the retort itself being'exclusively relied upon to drive the fluid vapors through the series of condensers to the worm 1L, leaving condensations in each accordingto the size of the columns and their position in the series. @f course, the successive condensations passed 0d through the successive traps or outlets d, as they do so in this case, but 1 have found it desirable to add afurther treatment to the lighter distillates arm the heavier oil vapors have been condensed, and to this end 1 have provided the condenser column G in theseries with a jacket J superheated by steam through branch pipe 7 from main pipe 7, and a superheated steam jet 6 at the end of pipe 7 discharging into the bottom of said condenser column. Thus the heat in both the said column and the jacket about the same will be at about the same temperature as the retort, say 650 1*, less the comparatively slight loss'by radiation en route, but the steam may be taken from any other availablp source.

The effect of said jet on the oil vapors at this point is to break them u into still more minute particles and assist in the reheating of the same in connection with the superheated steam about said: condenser column G. If desired, a fine wire mesh may be placed over the central opening at the bottom of condenser G to further assist in the breaking up of the vapors at this point. lhe result of this operation is the purification of the distillates and at the same time an increased percentage of volatile oils condensed with the naphtha and gasolene. This increase however, in the naphtha and gasolene, is secured at a cost of a reduction in the amount of heavier oils, the vapors of which have been treated by the above improved method. By reason of the action of the steam 'acket and jet on the vapors in condenser there will be comparative little condensation, although there is some, and it will be observed that the bottom of the said column is constructed so as to catch whatever condensation does occur and trap the same ofi' from the openingtothe side of the center hole instead of from the central opening as in the other condenser columns, and

wishes to obtain at this point in the operation. If, say-Ohio crude oil is being hanaccording to elevation or dled, the distillates coming from both the jacketed condenser G and the condenser H will be what'is known as intermediate gas or fuel oil although the quantity of this dis tillate is less than is secured by the apparatus shown in my Patent March 3, 1914. The reason for the increased condensing area required at this point, as shown in this improved apparatus over said patent, is because of the increase in the temperature of the vapors in condenser column Gr, necessitating the larger condensing surface to secure the desired amount of condensation of the requlred gravity of distillate. The condenser ii is relatively smaller by'reason of the decreased amount of kerosene secured by this improved method, while condenser K is correspondingly larger by reason of the increased amount of naphtha pbtained as well as condenser L for the gasoene.

I have shown the middle condenser in the series of seven with superheating means for the vapors which are uncondensed at that point in the process, but for that matter, it might be one or another of the said condensers and the degree of heat may be varied to the results desired. So also may the individual condensers be varied as length, it'being understood that all are built in sections and adapted to be used as described and claimed in my patent above recited.

. As the oils from the difierent oil fields are all difierent in character, it is obvious that it would be necessary for one to be skilled in the art in order to know at which point to place the steam jacketed condenser as well as to determine the size and number of condensers to be used according to the oil being treated and the number of fractions desired in each case.

When starting operations all the'valves o the possible blowing out No. 1,088,693 of from the outlets or traps from the several condensers are closed and are kept closed until the said traps or goose necks 4' are filled and then they are opened. This avoids of uncondensed vaporsin the several condensers until said traps are filled and it also helps to equalize the pressure throughout the series. It will be seen that the final condenser or worm L has a valve or-cock v the same as those pre ceding. After all the valves are opened there will be a sustained flow from the several condensers according to their respective gravities and condensation and discharges are contained without cessation throughout the period of operations.

Incident to the foregoing but not of the present invention, I show certain devices in diagram in Fig. .1, as a pump 20, or its equivalent, to force oil into the retort by pipe 21, and means indicated by 22 and pipe 23 to convey steam or air under pressure to atomize the oil to the retort. The pipe 24 is intended to. convey steam from any available source to the jacket 'or drum cl about the retort.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus as described comprising a series of successively connected separating condensers having open pipe connection from the top of one condenser to the bottom of thenext succeeding condenser, and one of the intermediate condensers of the series provided with a pipe to introduce superheated steam and thus raise the tem-" perature therein above the temperature in the last previous condenser through which the vapors pass.

2. An apparatus as described comprising a series of vapor separating condensers and a pipe connecting the top of one condenser with the bottom of the next succeeding condenser and each condenser having a separate outlet at its bottom, in combination with a superheated stem jet arranged to.

one of the middischarge into the bottom of whereby the dle of said series of condensers,

heat in the following condenser is increased.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHAUNCEY B. FORWARD. Witnesses:

P. H. Moore, K. L. 

